I-LAND is a 2020 boy group reality survival show created by Belift Lab, a joint venture between CJ ENM and Big Hit Entertainment.[1] It premiered on June 26, 2020 and broadcasted every Friday at 11 p.m. KST on Mnet.[2]
On the first episode, 7 people were "eliminated" and sent to "Ground". However, during the second episode, 4 more people were sent to "Ground" out of the 16, leaving 12 people in "I-LAND".
During the third episode, 6 people from the I-LAND team was sent to "Ground" while 6 of the people from "Ground" were sent to "I-LAND".
During the fourth episode, 4 people from I-LAND were sent to "Ground" while 4 from "Ground" were sent to "I-LAND".
The final 12 who were moving onto Part 2 was revealed during the seventh episode, with the first 6 being revealed during the sixth episode.
Cast[]
Storyteller[]
- Namkoong Min
Producers[]
- Bang Si Hyuk
- Rain (Part 1)
- Zico (Part 1)
Directors[]
- Pdogg
- Son Sung-deuk
- Wonderkid
- DOOBU
Guests[]
- Joo E (Special episode)
- Kwanghee (Special episode)
- Namjoo (Special episode)
- BTS (Eps. 7 & 12)
- Bae Yoon Jeong (Ep. 9)
- SEVENTEEN's The8, Jun, Hoshi, Dino (Ep. 10)
- TXT (Ep. 12)
Contestants[]
Name | Age | Nationality | Training period | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
K (케이) | 22 | Japanese | 2 years and 8 months | Oldest contestant. Former marathon athlete. |
Hanbin (한빈) | 22 | Vietnamese | 11 months | Dance crew leader and founding member of C.A.C. |
Seon (세온) | 20 | Korean | 4 years and 10 months | Former Yuehua Entertainment trainee. Former Produce 101 Season 2 contestant. |
Geonu (건우) | 19 | Korean | 1 year and 4 months | Former Dancing High contestant. |
Jaeho (재호) | 19 | Korean | 1 year and 5 months | Former n.CH Entertainment trainee. Former World Klass contestant. |
Jaebeom (재범) | 19 | Korean | 6 months | N/A |
Jimin (지민) | 18 | Korean | 11 months | N/A |
Heeseung (희승) | 18 | Korean | 3 years and 1 month | Former BigHit Music trainee. |
Youngbin (영빈) | 18 | Korean | 4 months | Basketball player for 7 years. |
Jay (제이) | 18 | Korean-American | 2 years and 11 months | Former BigHit Music trainee. |
Nicholas (니콜라스) | 17–18[n 1] | Taiwanese | 8 months | B-boy background. |
EJ (변의주) | 17–18[n 1] | Korean | 1 year and 6 months | Former BigHit Music trainee. Competitive fencer in middle school. |
Jake (제이크) | 17 | Korean-Australian | 9 months | Soccer player. |
Sunghoon (성훈) | 17 | Korean | 2 years and 1 month | Former BigHit Music trainee. Former figure skater. |
Sunoo (선우) | 17 | Korean | 10 months | N/A |
Sungchul (성철) | 16 | Korean | 8 months | Soccer player. |
Jungwon (정원) | 16 | Korean | 1 year and 4 months | Former BigHit Music, SM Entertainment and RBW trainee. Competitive Taekwondo player for 4 years. |
Taeyong (태용) | 15–16[n 1] | Korean | 1 year and 2 months | Former child actor. |
Kyungmin (경민) | 15 | Korean | 1 year and 11 months | Contemporary dancer background. |
Yoonwon (윤원) | 15 | Korean | 1 year and 1 month | Member of K-Pop dance crew Matchpoint Crew. |
TA-KI (타키) | 15 | Japanese | 10 months | N/A |
NI-KI (니키) | 14 | Japanese | 8 months | N/A |
Daniel (다니엘) | 14 | Korean-American | 8 months | Former YG Entertainment trainee. Youngest contestant. |
Rankings[]
Name | Part 1 | Part 2 | Final |
---|---|---|---|
Jungwon (정원) | 7 | 8 | 1 |
Jay (제이) | 6 | 6 | 2 |
Jake (제이크) | 8 | 7 | 3 |
NI-KI (니키) | 9 | 2 | 4 |
Heeseung (희승) | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Sunghoon (성훈) | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Sunoo (선우) | 1 | 3 | 7 |
K (케이) | 5 | 1 | Eliminated (8) |
Daniel (다니엘) | 2 | 8 | Eliminated (9) |
Hanbin (한빈) | 12 | Eliminated (10) | |
TA-KI (타키) | 10 | Eliminated (11) | |
Geonu (건우) | 11 | Eliminated (11) | |
EJ (변의주) | Eliminated | ||
Kyungmin (경민) | Eliminated | ||
Taeyong (태용) | Eliminated | ||
Nicholas (니콜라스) | Eliminated | ||
Jaebeom (재범) | Eliminated | ||
Jimin (지민) | Eliminated | ||
Noh Sung Chul (성철) | Eliminated | ||
Youngbin (영빈) | Eliminated | ||
Seon (세온) | Eliminated | ||
Jaeho (재호) | Eliminated | ||
Yoonwon (윤원) | Withdrew from the show |
Discography[]
Digital singles[]
- "I-LAND Part.1 Signal Song (IU)" (2020)
- "I-LAND Part.1 Signal Song (Applicants Version)" (2020)
- "I-LAND Part.1 Final Song - I&Credible" (2020)
- "I-LAND Part.2 Final Song - Calling (Run To You)" (2020)
Aftermath[]
- ENHYPEN debuted on November 30, 2020 with the EP Border : Day One.
- Belift Lab created 2 spin-offs of the show called, "Summer Training Camp" and "TMI Q&A", featuring all 22 contestants of I-Land. The first spin-off premiered on September 25, 2020 on HYBE Labels' YouTube channel, while the second was uploaded on the same channel on September 28, 2020.
- On September 26, 2021, HYBE and CJ ENM announced the second season to premiere as I-LAND 2 and applications for the season were open immediately after the announcement. The second season is targeted at female trainees born in the 2000s and will form their first girl group. They will hold global auditions for the second season in South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Australia, Thailand, Taiwan, and the United States from October 24 to November 21, 2021. The second season was expected to premiere in early 2022 on Mnet. However, on July 9, 2023, Mnet officially confirmed they plan to air I-Land 2 in the first half of 2024 with the final lineup debuting under WAKEONE. HYBE will have no involvment with I-Land 2. It was also announced that global auditions will be open from July 10 to August 6 for any girl around the world born before January 1, 2011. This group will collab with producer Teddy and his label The Black Label. Although not officially confirmed, it is speculated that R U Next? is HYBE's unofficial sequel series to I-Land, as the debuting girl group ILLIT will debut under Belift Lab and some trainees on the show were accepted through the I-Land 2 global auditions held in 2021.
Contestants' current condition[]
Other contestants[]
- Following Hanbin's return to Belift Lab, he received solo promotions. In October 2020, he held an online fan meeting called "!00%". In December 2020, he opened his official Twitter account and performed a pre-opening stage at Big Hit NYEL Concert with the song "I&Credible." On June 2, 2021, it was announced that Hanbin had left Belift Lab. He signed an exclusive contract with Yuehua Entertainment and debuted as a member of the boy group TEMPEST on March 2, 2022.
- K, EJ, TAKI, Nicholas and Kyungmin joined HYBE Labels Japan and were set to debut in a Japan-based male group in 2021, but this was later moved to 2022. Additional members were chosen through global auditions. On May 31, 2021, it was announced that Kyungmin had left HYBE Labels Japan, due to differences in the direction of the debut project. On March 9, 2022, it was announced that the audition show, &AUDITION - The Howling - would air in July. The group, named &TEAM, debuted on December 7, 2022.
- Lee Geonu and Chu Jimin (Siwoo) signed with Bluedot Entertainment and debuted as members of the boy group JUST B on June 30, 2021.
- Lee Youngbin signed with Keystone Entertainment and debuted as a member of the boy group BLANK2Y on May 24, 2022.
- Kim Yoonwon has returned to the K-pop dance crew Matchpoint Crew.
- Jeong Jaebeom changed his legal and stage name to Jeong Echan, and opened an Instagram account. Currently, he is part of a music producing team called YOUTH. He debuted as a soloist on June 23, 2022 with the single "Eternal Summer". Later, he was announced as contestant on Mnet's survival show Boys Planet.
- Jo Kyungmin signed with MNH Entertainment and debuted as a member of the boy group 8TURN on January 30, 2023.
- Noh Sungchul signed with Fantagio and debuted as a member of LUN8 on June 15, 2023.
- Some trainees opened social media accounts:
- Choi Seon became a member of the producing team CIELOGROOVE and made his solo debut on November 20, 2022.
- Choi Jaeho opened a personal Instagram account, which has been inactive since 2022.
- Kim Taeyong opened a personal Instagram account, which has been deactivated.
- Lee Geonu opened a personal Twitter account.
- Daniel opened a personal Instagram account.